Daniel Cavanaugh, like so many of playwright David Henry Hwang's characters, gets thoroughly entangled in the web of miscommunication and misunderstanding between East and West. His predicament is a source of comedy and intrigue.

Like the Westerners in Hwang's "M. Butterfly" and "Golden Child," the principal character in "Chinglish," which opened this weekend at South Coast Repertory, is frustrated and flummoxed. It's not just the language barrier that defeats him; Cavanaugh fundamentally misunderstands the workings and subtleties of a culture that has been around for millennia and bears no resemblance to Western ways.

This theme isn't new, either to Hwang or to theater, and those who know the Tony-winning playwright's work will find much that's familiar about "Chinglish." But as usual, the fun lies in the unexpected paths the story takes and in Hwang's unique sense of humor, which unerringly captures the hilarity that comes from cross-cultural awkwardness and competing motives.

Cavanaugh is an American businessman with an ingenious plan to tap into an emerging Chinese market. He's following a well-worn path. The world's most populous country has been tempting and frustrating foreign traders, investors and entrepreneurs since Marco Polo arrived.

Cavanaugh's idea will take advantage of the huge nation's pride and newfound prosperity. His Midwestern family business will provide correctly translated signs for public buildings and places.

Badly translated signage, a common problem in China, is a recurring source of humor in "Chinglish." One egregious example is shown by Cavanaugh in a slick slide-show sales presentation: in a large store, "dry foods price counter" in Mandarin somehow gets translated as "(Expletive) the Certain Price of Goods."

Cavanaugh (Alex Moggridge) targets a "small" Chinese city (Guiyang, population 4 million) to make his pitch. Brimming with optimism, he has what he thinks is a successful meeting with a local official (Raymond Ma) about his plans. He is assisted by a British-born translator and consultant named Peter (Brian Nishii), whose enthusiasm doesn't hide the desperation of a man who badly needs a job.

The bureaucrat's assistant, Xi Yan (Michelle Krusiec), isn't so pleased with Cavanaugh's idea. During the meeting she sits silent and unsmiling, the picture of implacable opposition.

Soon Cavanaugh is caught in an intricate game of power politics and competing interests. Xi Yan is well-connected – her husband is a judge and a member of the Communist Party – and endlessly crafty. She and her boss have entirely different plans about the sign-translation opportunity. And Peter warns the naive American that the rule of law and contracts mean nothing in China. Personal relationships are what count, he insists.

Xi takes that concept to the extreme. Beautiful and commanding, she easily seduces the hapless American, who's ripe for the plucking: He's thousands of miles from his wife and kids, and his marriage isn't exactly rosy.

Those who know Hwang's work will already have assumed that this wild extramarital affair, too, is part of a larger scheme. In the end, the experience serves as a radical primer for the American, preparing him for battle in the rough-and-tumble world of Chinese business.

Much of the dialogue in "Chinglish" is in Mandarin, with translations provided overhead. That's where some of the play's best humor can be found: the mangling of meaning and intent that happens when translators with bad training and agendas of their own try to make two cultural solitudes understand each other.

The Chinese fascination with American culture, especially its capitalist aspects, is also a source of fun. Cavanaugh gains respect with two Chinese bureaucrats when they mistakenly believe he was a major player in the Enron scandal. Hwang is fascinated with the love-hate duality in the Chinese-American relationship.

The actors are comfortable in their roles – not surprising, since this West Coast debut is a co-production with Berkeley Repertory Theatre, where it played first.

Moggridge is the picture of American can-do optimism, but his white-bread Midwestern demeanor hides more complex machinations that fool even seasoned Chinese businesspeople, as we discover during late-play revelations.

Krusiec toggles enticingly between icy hauteur and passion, and you're never quite sure where her allegiances reside.

Ma's jolly Cai is a delicious character – a backslapping, two-faced old politico, a familiar figure in any culture, who has no idea that he's being outfoxed.

And Nishii finds an undertone of rage and frustration in Peter, a character who might bring Neil Heywood to mind, the British businessman who met a bad end under mysterious circumstances in China.

Leigh Silverman's direction seems static at times. People tend to get rooted to chairs and beds on David Korins' fluid set.

But that's not an unforgivable flaw. This is a story about words – their meanings, nuances and the myriad ways they can be misconstrued. "Chinglish" requires you to lean in, watch, read and listen, at least when you're not leaning back in laughter.

Brian Nishii, Michelle Krusiec, Alex Moggridge, Celeste Den and Raymond Ma in South Coast Repertory's 2013 production of "Chinglish" by David Henry Hwang. BEN HORAK
"Chinglish" playwright David Henry Hwang: "I was in Shanghai in 2006. I was at a new theater. It was typical of the buildings that were being built in the run-up to the (2008) Olympics. No expense had been spared: Brazilian hardwood, Italian marble. But there was a sign that kind of jumped out at me. It was a bathroom for people with disabilities. The sign said 'deformed man's toilet.'" PHOTO COURTESY SCR
Michelle Krusiec (left) and Alex Moggridge (right) star in South Coast Repertory's production of "Chinglish." KEVIN BERNE
Alex Moggridge and Raymond Ma in South Coast Repertory's 2013 production of "Chinglish" by David Henry Hwang. BEN HORAK
Alex Moggridge stars in South Coast Repertory's production of "Chinglish," a new comedy from David Henry Hwang. This co-production with Berkeley Repertory Theatre -- the West Coast premiere -- heads to the Hong Kong Arts Festival after the show closes at SCR. KEVIN BERNE
Michelle Krusiec and Raymond Ma in South Coast Repertory's 2013 production of "Chinglish" by David Henry Hwang. BEN HORAK
Playwright David Henry Hwang. CRAIG SCHWARTZ

1 of

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.